Elastic knit fabric



March 15, 193s. y w. J. HON 2,111,472

ELASTIC KNIT FABRIC Filed Aug. 13, 1936. 2 Sheets-Sheet l- March 15, 193s. wl J. HORN ELASTIC KNIT FABRIC Filed Aug. 13, 1956 2 sheets-sheet 2 CIIKQ.

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Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES ELAsTTc -KNTT momo Walter J. Horn,

Philadelphia, Pa., assigner to William H. Horn & Bro., Incorporated, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Appiieauon August 13, 193s, semi No." 95,ss4

2' Claims.

This invention relates to elastic fabrics and particularly to a fabric for use in elastic stockings as disclosed in the prior United States Letters Patent of Charles E. Southwick, Jr., No.

5 2,015,608 dated September v24, 1935.` t

'I'he stocking disclosed in the above noted patent is composed of ribbed fabric with a rubber thread inlaid in each course of the stitches of which the fabric is composed, the rubber thread in the leg portion, in the foot portion and in an intermediate rear portion lying between the lower end of the leg portion and the foot portion, adjacent the heel, being held between a set of stitch wales on one faceof the fabric and a second set of stitch wales on the opposite face of the fabric,4 with the knitting thread extending from the one to -the other of said faces between the rubber strands in the respective stitch courses and connecting the two sets of stitch wales constituting the opposite faces. respectively of the fabric. y

In an area lying intermediate the `foot portion and the lower end of the leg-portion, in front of the aforementioned Arear portion which is dis- 'posed adjacent the heel. i. e. an area constituting the instep portion of the stocking, 4the above noted connecting portions of the knitting thread extend fromthe stitch wales on the one face of the fabric to the stitch wales on the opposite face of the fabric o'nly at alternate courses of stitches, wherebythe instep portion of the stocking -is foreshortened walewise of the fabric within the instep portion to give the front of the stocking a natural curvature wherelthe stocking is required to bend at the wearers ankle.

In knitting a stocking according to the disclosure of the abovenoted 4patent the stitches of the wales on the one face of the fabric are al1 of a uniform size, i. e. each stitch is of a length equal to the walewise width of a single course.

Wale on the opposite face of the fabric isof a length equal to the walewise width of two courses of stitches.

Withthe above noted arrangement of stitches on the opposite faces vrespectively of the fabric, .within the foreshortened instep area of the stocking, it has'been found that when the stocking is produced from certain of the finer yarns of the l fabric.

Within` the foreshortened instep area each stitch in each i the otherwise 'smooth appearance of the stocking.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fabric of the same general construction as that disclosed in'the above noted patent but modified in a manner to eliminate puckering, as 5 will be fully disclosed hereinafter, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the stocking in a Vflattened form; y

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the stocking ilat- 10 tenedin a plane rat -to the plane of attening in Fig.`1; and Y Fig. 3 -is an enlarged diagrammatic view of the fabric in the instep portion of the stocking shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 15

As shown in Figs. land 2,-the stocking is composed of ribbed knit fabric and comprises an `upper leg portion Ay 'and-a foot portionvB and which from the top edge of the portion A and the lower edge of thesportion Bv to the course lines 20 u -a and bb respectively; are composed of usual successive stitch courses i, I (see Fig. 3), each 4having a strand of elastic 2 laid in the fabric between the front `wales 3 and the back wales 4, which are formed on different banks of needles 25 respectively as is usual in the formation of ribbed The stitches of the wales on one face of theV fabric are connected tothe stitches of the wales on the oppositeface of the fabric by connecting 3o portions 5, 5 of `the thread of which the stitches on the opposite faces of the fabric are alternately composed, said connecting portions 5 passing through thefabric and assuming a more or less zig-zag formation between the opposite faces 35 of the fabric. I,

Normally theelast'ic strands 2V are held in the fabric by the stitches 3 and 4 on opposite faces of the fabric respectively and between the connecting portions 5 of the thread of which said stitches `40 of the successive lcourses are composed,.said connecting portions 5 effecting a definite spacing of the elastic strands 2. i f Between the lowermost course af-a of the top portion A and the topmost course b-b of the foot 45 portion B, Fig. 1, the back portion of the stocking from a Wale line c-c at one side of the stocking around the back of the stocking to a corresponding wale line on the opposite side of the stocking is provided with 'an area C, wherein the elastic 50 strands 2 are laid in the fabric in the same manner as in the top and foot portions A and B, as above noted. l

From the Wale line c-c onI the one side of the stocking to the corresponding wale line on 55 the opposite. side of the stocking, extending around the front of the stocking, the stocking is provided with an area D, wherein the elastic strands 2, 2 are drawn closer together than in the surrounding and adjacent areas A, B, and C.

The drawing of the. elastic strands 2, 2 closer together in the area D and the retaining of the strands in the single general plane of the fabric is accomplished in thepresent case by adjacent pairs of the needles which are knitting the stitch walesof one face of the fabric within the area D holding their stitches of,one `course during the formation of the next course of stitches by single needles intermediate each of said pairs and by the'needles knitting the stitch wales of the opposite face of the' fabric, without the needles which are holdingv the stitches taking on the thread of which the next course of 'stitches is composed, then taking thread during the forma-v tion of the next succeeding course o f stitches and casting thek held stitch, whereby the stitch holding needles knit at only every second course, i. e. in alternate courses on one face of the,fabric while the said intermediate needles and the set of needles producing the stitch wales on the opposite face of the fabric are knitting in every course. f

By the above procedure adjacent pairs of the wales 3a, 3a.. on the one face of the fabric, within the area D, are composed of elongated stitches indicated at 6, 6, ,Fig. 3, while the wales 4 on` the'. opposite face of 'the fabric and' the intermediate wales 3b on the i'lrst said` face of the fabric are composed throughout of normal length stitches 1, 1, and 6a, 6'a respectively.

'By the 'needles forming the wales 3a, 3a' on the one face of the fabric failing to take thread during the knitting of alternate courses la', la,

and taking thread during the formation of the intermediate courses `AIb, Ib the connecting threads 5, connecting the wales 3 with the wales 4, pass through the fabric from face to face thereof during the casting of the stitches of the alternate courses la, la, but -during 4the casting of the stitches of thef intermediate courses Ib, Ib the Wale-connecting threads do not pass through the fabric and are held on one side of thefabric, oating coursewise across wales 3a, 3a and connecting the wales 4, 4 on the one face of the fabric only, as clearly indicated at 5a, 5a, Fig. 3. As a r'esultcf the above procedure, the elastic strands 2, 2 within l`the area D are drawn together in pairs, and the absence of the cross threads 5, 5, between 'the strands of the pairs foreshortens the fabric walewise to the extent of the s um of the diameters of the number of missing cross threads and such foreshortening draws or contracts the front of -the stocking relative to the back lof the stocking to an extent which produces the natural curvature .I 0 in the instep pprtion ofthe stocking.

,- The contracting of the fron-tof the stocking within the area D reacts to place the rear area C under tension Walewise of the fabric. This tension is relieved and the curvature I0 is further accentuated by the provision of a heel notch Il formed in the stocking in the usual manner and which extends across the back of the stocking from a point adjacent and to the rear of the substantially central side Wale c-c at the one side of the stocking to a corresponding point at the opposite side of the stocking.

From the above, it will be clear that the curvature in the front of the stocking is smooth and in the single plane of the normal thickness of the fabric and lends itself readily to free bending movement of the foot at the ankle without any bulkiness and Without causing the wearer any discomfort.

While the area D has been illustrated as being substantially rectangular, it will be obvious that the contour of this area may assumeany desired configuration without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The breaking up of the solid area of long stitches 6 on the one face of the fabric Within the area D with relatively spaced wales of regular stitches 1 has beenfound to eliminate the puckering of the fabric as above noted without affecting the foreshortening of the fabric in the instep vportion of lthe stocking.

-I claim: v

1. A knitted elastic bandage comprising successive courses of stitches`forming two series of wales on opposite faces respectively of the fabric and connected by cross threads extending through the fabric from face to face thereof in *one area of the'fabric at each' stitch and in an yadjacent area of 'the fabric onlyA at spaced courses at wales periodically alternating with Wales having cross threads at every course with elastic strands disposed in the fabric intermediate said face wales and secured in predetermined relation to each other in the general plane of the fabric by said cross threads causing a walewise foreshortening of the fabric in the second named area relative to the first said area.

2. A knitted elastic .bandage comprising successive courses of stitches forming two series of Wales on opposite faces respectively of the fabric and connected by cross threads extending-y walewise foreshortening of the fabric in the second named area. relative to the first said area.

WALTER J. HORN. 

